12 March 2023 , 18:01
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BBC chiefs are holding crisis talks in a desperate attempt to resolve the Match of the Day crisis, with increasing hope that a deal can be reached.
Director general Tim Davie has signalled an olive branch being offered towards host Gary Lineker being reinstated to front the show. BBC managers are also holding talks with employees in the next 24 hours after another day of absolute chaos at the Corporation.
The pressure is mounting on the BBC hierarchy while Lineker has enjoyed the support of pundits like Ian Wright and Alan Shearer while the 5Live radio schedule was also decimated over the weekend. Lineker has refused to back down and has received widespread praise for taking a stand on his principles.
Staff commentators were put in difficult positions while freelancers were able to down tools and the situation has become toxic and is certain to cause a major backlash. They did show the Women’s Super League live on BBC2 but were forced to use the live world feed as TV commentators had pulled out all weekend.
That reduced Match of the Day on Saturday night to a 20 minute farce and Match of the Day 2 followed suit as presenter Mark Chapman was among those to join his colleague in solidarity. The BBC are hoping they can thrash out an agreement during crisis talks to avert another embarrassment next weekend. According to BBC News, those discussions are 'moving in the right direction'.
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There were hopes of a resolution soon but not all issues have yet been 'fully resolved'. If the talks continue to progress, Lineker looks set to return for next weekend's FA Cup quarter-finals, with the BBC showing both Manchester City's clash with Burnley and Grimsby's trip to Brighton.
Gary Lineker was pictured outside his home on Sunday and is now in showdown talks with the BBC (PA)Remarkably, despite the reduced show and ugly stand-off, Saturday night’s Match of the Day was watched by 2.58 million people which was up by nearly 500,000 from last week's 2.09m viewership.
The BBC do not have rights to the world live feed for Premier League games but they do for the WSL and also the FA Cup which may be the emergency option for next weekend with live quarter final ties due across the network.
But many freelance commentators are voicing concerns that they would not want their voices to be shown with a dispute ongoing. The Premier League feed is part of a multi-billion pound contract so might not be easiest resolved.
Wright and Shearer were back on the screen yesterday as part of the Premier League Production programming around Sunday’s games while regular 606 host Chris Sutton broke rank and said he wanted to broadcast the popular phone-in show.
The hope is that talks might reach some compromise agreement with Lineker and what freelancers can post in terms of opinions in the future. The row has left BBC chair Richard Sharp and Director General Davie both fighting for their futures.
Sign our petition to get Gary Lineker reinstated to Match of the Day here.